Going into the British Grand Prix, Ferrari is behind McLaren in the constructors' championship standing. A McLaren driver is also on top of the drivers' championship standings. But after a disappointing performance in the North American leg of the 2007 Formula One calendar, the Italian team is showing resurgence as they post a one-two win at the French Grand Prix.
The threat posed by the two Ferrari cars to McLaren's bid for a championship which has been eluding the team for eight years now. During the practice session for the British Grand Prix Friday, Ferrari's tandem of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa posted the two fastest lap times in the afternoon.
While in the morning, it was the rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton driving for McLaren who set the fastest lap time. During the morning practice session, Raikkonen was second only to Hamilton. In the afternoon though, Hamilton was not able to take even second place as his lap time was beaten by Massa and by Toyota's Ralf Schumacher who is now showing good performance.
Raikkonen has this to say after the two practice sessions: "It was a good day. We worked in a different way to usual, covering a high mileage. I would say we have a good base from which we can improve the car for qualifying and the race. We have to do well and we will give it our all. Track conditions were a bit difficult because of the wind, while it seems that, compared to the test two weeks ago, the track surface is a bit slipperier."
His teammate Massa is also satisfied by his car's performance during the practice sessions. "I am very satisfied with the work done in these two free practice sessions," the Brazilian said. "The car worked well in a reasonably similar way to what we had seen in the test here two weeks ago and I can only be happy with that. We worked on long runs and the performance was very consistent."
With the resurgence of Ferrari, McLaren is now faced with a tough battle for the championship. Although relegated to fourth place during the afternoon, Hamilton is still satisfied with his car's performance. "It is great to be here at my first home Grand Prix and to be driving a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 car in front of all the British supporters," said the rookie.
"The car feels great to drive around this track, which is one of my favorites, and I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend where I expect us to remain strong. We gathered a lot of useful data which we will look at overnight and then continue our work tomorrow."
Hamilton is now being favored by many to become the first rookie to win a championship, except of course Emilio Giuseppe "Nino" Farina who won the first Formula One championship. The Briton has already taken eight rostrum finishes in all his eight races so far. On two races, his car's crossed the finish line in first place. These two victories for Hamilton came along at the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, two races where Ferrari was totally dominated by McLaren.
